


The Path Forward

by jane_x80



Series: Yellow Brick Road [6]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Episode: s12e24 Neverland, Episode: s13e01 Stop the Bleeding, M/M, Semi-Public Sex, Slash, Unrequited Love, Walks On The Beach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-12 17:16:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10495806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jane_x80/pseuds/jane_x80
Summary: Tony is getting more and more frustrated at how his life is going at NCIS, especially when it comes to Gibbs' treatment of him. Derek invites him to go to his niece's wedding at the last minute, and it can also double as a weekend getaway for him. Tony has an enlightening weekend where he comes to several conclusions and decides on his path forward.This story takes place beforeHit the Road.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Red_Pink_Dots](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/gifts).



> This story is for Red_Pink_Dots as her birthday was earlier this month! Hey look, I'm not even a month late this time! :D Happy Belated Birthday, my friend! I know this isn't the Tony/Dean or a new WIP, but instead part of an existing series, but I hope you will still like this story.
> 
> The muse has been fickle and has her fingers in far too many pies so it's kind of a miracle she actually finished any story at all! :)
> 
> There is mention of s12e24 Neverland and s13e01 Stop the Bleeding so some spoilers from those episode.
> 
> Just a quick note, Derek of course is played by Richard Burgi. Excellent suggestion by red_pink_dots!
> 
>  
> 
> The story is complete and I'll be posting per my regular schedule of one chapter a day for the next few days. It's not terribly long but there'll be a few chapters. :D

It had been a trying week. The case had been one with various twists and turns and had ended up being much more convoluted than anyone could have ever predicted, so it had taken a lot for the team to get to the bottom of things. Tony had worked his ass off, and all Gibbs had done was given him looks that barely contained his disdain. It was better now that Bishop had joined the team – she was a sweet kid and had always been nice to him. Even looked up to him a little. But the truth remained that things were prickly at work. And work had always been his refuge. Work was really not his refuge anymore. It was just another source of complicated and stressful interactions.

Tony suppressed a sigh. He just had one final report to review and hand in, and then his weekend could begin. He had made no plans. He rarely did these days. Plans always had a way of falling through. They’d get called in to a case, even if the team wasn’t on call. There was always some kind of special circumstance that warranted the MCRT’s involvement, regardless of whether they had been working two weeks straight or not. Then instead of getting to relax and decompress, Tony would have to endure Gibbs’ black looks and pretend to let it just roll off his back, and be all cheerful and funny to keep the team morale going, and yet he would still be the one to have to come up with the crucial lead or clue that would lead to the goddamn case being solved. And then his contributions would be demeaned and dismissed. It was Gibbs’ pattern, had been for a while now. And it was getting very old.

Or these days, Vance would sometimes send him out of town unexpectedly to some conference or other. After all, Gibbs refused to go to those kinds of things. Tony was his long time Senior Field Agent, and Vance finally had enough regard for Tony and felt that he was more than an adequate representative for NCIS. And while Tony had once taken it as a sign of Vance’s trust in him, these days it felt more like a chore. It was just another way for Tony’s life to be disrupted, his plans cancelled, and for him to be sent somewhere unfamiliar with no backup, to represent a team he was fast losing his affinity for.

He was getting too old to be manipulated like this. And he knew it. And it was all tanking any kind of plans he might have made ahead of time. Maintaining any kind of social life was getting to be way too difficult. It wasn’t just the fact that his plans always inevitably fell through, it was the farce of it all. All his energy was focused on keeping it together at work. He just didn’t have the energy to fake any kind of cheer or optimism outside of work anymore. And nobody liked Tony DiNozzo unless he was clowning around like a performing monkey. It was a lesson he’d learn very young, when he’d created the brash Tony DiNozzo persona in boarding school. But the mask was getting harder and harder to keep going. Nobody needed to see the real Tony DiNozzo, the sad, quiet man who felt too much and always needed too much. _That_ Tony DiNozzo was clingy and pathetic. And Tony knew perfectly well that nobody liked that Tony DiNozzo. Not his father, not Wendy, not Gibbs. Not anyone.

He just needed to get away from work and clear his head for a couple of days. Right now, he was really looking forward to going home, getting in his sweatpants, and just sitting around watching the backlog of shows on his Netflix queue. He didn’t want to see anyone or have to pretend to be happy or cheerful, and most of all, he didn’t want to get called in to work and have to see Gibbs’ sour expression or hear his snide remarks over the weekend. He’d worked very hard this week. Surely he deserved a break from Gibbs’ crushing oppressiveness. Just for one measly weekend.

His cell buzzed and he answered it without even glancing at the caller ID.

“DiNozzo,” he mumbled.

“Hey, baby,” Derek’s warm voice greeted him.

“Hey,” he replied with little enthusiasm.

“Bad day?”

He mustered up a grunt.

“Sorry to hear that. Maybe I can help?”

Tony couldn’t help it. His lips twitched up into a smile. Derek was a sweetheart and always ready to take Tony on, regardless of his mood. Derek was one of the few people that Tony ever showed anything other than his cheerful mask these days. It filled him with guilt. He felt like he was using the man, but Derek made it so easy to depend on him to help him through some of his darker moods.

“Same old,” Tony told him. “What’s up?”

Derek hesitated. “Well… I don’t really want to trouble you.”

“It’s fine. I’m off this weekend.” Tony was aware that McGee, Bishop and Gibbs could all hear him, so he was trying to keep his sentences short and devoid of information and his face expressionless. Not that Gibbs would be paying any attention to him. Gibbs never did anymore. But still. No need to wear his heart on his sleeve. Nobody cared about how Tony really felt about anything or anyone. That lesson had been drummed into his head repeatedly all his life. He preferred to keep all things Derek to himself and not share it with his team. None of them needed to know anything. It was how he’d always run his life – keep everything personal that was in any way important out of sight. Not that Derek was important, necessarily. He enjoyed Derek. Things with Derek was uncomplicated. He wanted to keep it that way. Not to mention, he’d always kept his bisexuality completely out of the workplace, so there was absolutely no need to give anything away now.

“It’s kind of a big favor,” Derek had that quiet hopefulness going for him, he really wanted this but didn’t want to let Tony know how much he wanted it.

“Uh-huh?”

“My niece’s wedding. I don’t know if you remember me talking about it. It’s tomorrow. And the rehearsal dinner is tonight. Are you off tonight or this weekend?”

“I might be.”

“I said I was bringing a plus one. Would you mind terribly not making me go stag and having everyone look at me and offer up their great aunt or their sister, idiot step-cousin or whatever the hell else out of pity for my poor lonely unmarried ass?”

Tony grinned. “As if,” he teased.

“You have no idea,” Derek blew out an exasperated breath. “So? Are you available?”

Tony sighed. He’d really been looking forward to sitting on his sofa in his sweatpants this weekend. But he’d canceled on Derek so many times, or had sprung himself on Derek without warning just as many times, and Derek never complained. And never made him feel bad about anything. It wasn’t like Tony had any real plans. He would have probably ended up going over to Derek’s tomorrow night to hook up anyway. He might as well go to this wedding. Derek really sounded like he wanted Tony to be there.

“Fine,” Tony breathed. “Yeah. OK.”

“It’s in Ocean City so pack for the weekend?”

“There’s no way we’re making dinner there tonight,” Tony objected, glancing at his watch. Ocean City, Maryland was at least a three hour drive away.

“I’ll pick you up at your place. I’ve arranged for us to hitch a ride with a friend. He’s flying out that way? So we’ll make it. What time do you think you’ll be done with work?”

“Sure there’s no one else you can call?” Unspoken was Tony’s often repeated excuses when he had to back out of their plans – they’d caught a case. Or he had to work late. He needed to finish his paperwork. He needed to double check something on a case. He was working a hunch. He had the night shift surveilling a suspect. All valid excuses. And all things he’d pulled on Derek on multiple occasion.

“Please, baby?” Derek’s voice was soft.

“I’ll text when I’m leaving work?” Tony found himself offering.

“Thank you. Black tie tomorrow night. Suit and tie tonight.”

“Got it.”

“And maybe we can just sit on the beach tomorrow?”

“It’s hardly beach weather.”

“Fantastic. Then it’ll just be you and me on the beach with no one else to bother us!”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

“I think the hotel has an outdoor hot tub that would still be amazing even if it’s not beach weather.”

“OK. I’m in, I’m in.”

“Text me later?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Thanks, baby.”

“You owe me.”

“I know. I’ll make it worth your while,” Derek said suggestively.

Tony grinned at that. “Yeah you will,” he told Derek gruffly, and then he hung up. He could feel Bishop’s curious gaze on him, and looked up.

“Big plans this weekend?” Bishop asked brightly.

Tony shrugged. “Yeah,” he couldn’t help grinning.

“Good,” she grinned back at him. “You look like you could do with a nice break.”

“We all do,” Tony agreed. Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught Gibbs glaring at him. He clammed up and turned back to his computer screen. Time to keep his head down and finish up the work before Gibbs found some stupid probie task for him to do and force him to stay late. It wouldn’t be the first time that Gibbs assigned him make-work in order to punish him for whatever imagined transgression and curtail his already limited social life.

But luck was on his side. They finished their paperwork, handed it in, and Gibbs dismissed them all. Not one to question a gift horse, Tony grabbed his gear and walked out with Bishop and McGee instead of staying late to start on the administrative paperwork like he normally did. Again, he ignored the sharp look Gibbs gave him, tossing off a cheerful “Have a good weekend, Boss,” to him as he left.

In the elevator, Bishop asked if he was going to the beach for the weekend.

Tony shrugged. “That’s the plan,” he said.

“You’re not spending the weekend with Zoe, are you?” McGee asked with concern. “You guys aren’t back together, right? Because you know you keep doing this with her – break up, get back together, break up, get back together. And it’s always so volatile. You guys fight too much.”

“I’m not going with Zoe,” Tony shook his head. “We’re really and truly over.”

“Oh,” McGee sighed. “Sorry, Tony.”

Tony shrugged. He deflected their other questions by refocusing the attention back on them and escaped back to his apartment, texting Derek when he started his car. He went home, took a quick shower and put on a fresh suit. Zegna. Black. He paired it with a gray shirt that brought out his green eyes, and a tie that matched them and efficiently styled his hair. Then he packed his tux, and an extra suit into a garment bag and threw his swim things in his go bag. It was one of the perks of working for Gibbs for so long. He had a pre-packed go bag containing everything he might need for at least 3 days packed and ready to go at all times. In fact he had a go bag ready in his car, another go bag under his desk at work, and yet another in the apartment, just in case. So it was no surprise that he was waiting downstairs when Derek swung by to pick him up.

The ride Derek had arranged turned out to be hitching a ride on an Army helicopter. They made it to Ocean City in record time and the former Green Beret had a rental car waiting for them there. They made small talk as Derek drove them to the hotel. Tony had been thankful that the helicopter ride had meant they wouldn’t be able to speak. He just wasn’t in the mood. He would rather just be quiet and only bring out the social skills at the rehearsal dinner, when it would be needed. So in the car, he tried not to be curt, but he was happy to let Derek chatter on, telling him about his sister, his niece who was getting married, and what to expect being his plus one.

They checked into the hotel and immediately went up to their room to drop off their things and freshen up. The minute the door closed behind them, Tony found himself pinned to it, Derek’s blue, blue eyes staring into his tired green eyes, one of Derek’s hands clutching the front of his shirt, the other tenderly caressing his face.

“You look tired, baby,” Derek said, eyes sad.

“Tough week,” Tony gave him a small smile. “I’m fine.”

“You want to sit out the rehearsal dinner and just relax and go to bed early?” Derek offered.

“Nah,” Tony’s hand moved up Derek’s back and tangled in his short, graying hair. “I promised I was going to shield you against well meaning matchmakers.” And he pulled Derek’s face close and kissed him hard. Then he pushed Derek away with a saucy grin. “We better get going before I forget about the dinner and just drag you to bed.”

Derek laughed and dropped a kiss on the corner of Tony’s mouth before he stepped away. Both men took turns peeing, and then stood side by side, brushing their teeth, exchanging coy grins. Tony lamented his wind-blown hair, but Derek kissed him and told him to leave it alone. Tony looked like he’d just come from having sex and he said so.

“Who knew there would be a hairstyling benefit out of riding in Army helicopters,” Tony snarked.

“You could be crawling out of the sewers and everyone would still think you just had sex, baby.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “I _have_ crawled out of the sewers, thank you very much,” he snorted. “Believe me, sex was the furthest thing from everyone’s mind.”

Derek smiled, cheeks creasing into attractive laugh lines. “You sure lead an exciting life with NCIS,” he teased.

“Shit, don’t even remind me,” Tony sighed, shutting his eyes. “If anyone finds out I hitched a ride on an _Army_ chopper…”

“You won’t be able to show your face at the Navy Yard. I know, I know.”

Tony threw him a mock angry glare. “Is that any way to treat your idiot step-cousin shield?”

Derek laughed. “Fair enough. I apologize, baby. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Fucking Green Beret,” he grumbled. He pulled his tie out of his pocket – he’d stuffed it in there when he realized that the Army chopper ride was going to be windy.

“Hmmm,” Derek deftly stole the tie and tossed it onto the bed. “I kind of really like this look you’ve got going here.”

Tony looked at himself in the mirror. Grey shirt, open collar under his Zegna. “Really?” he made a face. “Thought you said it was a suit and tie sort of thing.”

“It is, but you look incredible this way.”

Tony gave him the one shoulder shrug. “You sure? This is your family thing.”

Derek nodded vehemently.

“ _You’re_ wearing a tie,” Tony pointed out.

“I can’t pull off that look. Not like you can.”

“Just pull your tie off. Boom,” Tony frowned.

“Shut up,” Derek crowded him against the bathroom door and planted another kiss on him. When they came up for air, Tony was running his hands up and down Derek’s back, under his suit jacket but over his shirt.

“You seem to be in the mood for pinning me against doors tonight,” he observed.

“Wall would do, too,” Derek told him, reluctantly stepping away from him.

“I swear, if I end up being fucked in a public restroom in this hotel…” Tony rolled his eyes, checked his reflection one last time, and gave Derek a quirky grin. “I’m ready,” he declared.

“OK. Well, you’ll know Cassie and Lauren of course,” Derek said, holding his hand out.

Without thinking about it, Tony took it, and felt a tiny pinprick of happiness when Derek laced their fingers together.

“They’re Holly’s bridesmaids so they’ve been here since yesterday doing whatever it is bridesmaids do,” Derek continued, grabbing the card keys and handing one to Tony, before they headed out the door. “My mother is all bark, no bite. My brother Frank is Holly’s dad, so he’ll be too stressed out to care about us. My little sister Marissa though, she might be nosey. You can tell her whatever you like. I’ll back you up.”

“Got it.”

“If Great Aunt Edna asks you to dance, make up _any_ excuse and run like hell.”

Tony gave him a questioning look.

“She gropes all the good looking guys.”

Tony laughed.

“I mean it. She would have a field day with your ass, and I don’t want to have to wrestle my great aunt on the dance floor. Your ass is mine.”

Tony shook his head, grinning. “Your family sounds like something else.”

“You have no idea,” Derek agreed easily.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapter didn't get posted overnight. I actually slept through the night for a change. Whee! Here's chapter two now. :)

The rehearsal dinner was in one of the smaller ballrooms of the hotel. Derek kept their fingers laced as they walked in, hand in hand, consulted the seating chart and found their table. Tony went straight for the bar and ordered two scotches. It was a classy affair. They had MacAllan 18. And it was open bar. Tony dropped some cash into the tip jar, thanked the bartender and grabbed his drinks.

“And who might you be?” Tony’s way was blocked by a tiny little old lady who looked like she was a hundred years old, and she was just dripping with diamonds.

“Uh…,” Tony hesitated, suddenly thinking that there was no way this woman and his father should ever meet. His father would gobble her up and spit her out sans jewelry and money in no seconds flat. And before he could say anything, a lovely blond bridesmaid was at his elbow and smiling at the little old lady.

“Great Aunt Edna, this is Tony, Dad’s boyfriend,” the bridesmaid, Lauren, Derek’s youngest daughter said, keeping her smile bright, even though she was giving Tony quick glances.

“You’re Derek’s boyfriend?” the old lady frowned.

“Uh, yes, ma’am?” the answer sounded more like a question.

“Are you asking me or telling me, young man?”

Lauren pinched his arm hard, making him jump.

“I’m, uh, telling you,” Tony said solemnly.

“Oh,” Edna sounded crestfallen. Then she looked fierce. “Why the hesitation?”

“Well, I was going to tell everyone Derek paid for my company for the weekend,” Tony joked.

“That’s a much better story. Anthony, is it?” Edna looked at him with appreciation and approval.

“Yes. Anthony. Or Tony, if you like.”

“And you’re Derek’s boyfriend?”

“Uh-huh.”

“For how long?”

“Almost a year now.”

Edna gave him a long look, looking him up and down, assessing him frankly. Tony found himself blushing in response.

“Well, Aunt Edna, I see Dad looking for Tony so we’re just gonna…” Lauren started tugging Tony away.

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Tony gave her a grin, allowing himself to be led away.

“Make sure you save me a dance later, young man!” Edna called after them.

“Do _not_ dance with her,” Lauren hissed as she dragged him towards Derek. “She will grope your ass and more. Believe me, it’s _not_ pretty.”

“I got that memo already,” Tony whispered back.

“Did you see how she just zoomed in on you? It’s like she has a homing beacon or something,” Lauren complained.

Tony chuckled at that. “Anyone else I should avoid?”

“Stick by Dad. He’ll help you. Or Cassie or me will try to help.”

Tony gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks, Lauren.”

“I’m just glad you were able to make it this weekend,” Lauren muttered. “Dad always gets cornered when he comes to these things. People just can’t believe he can find his own dates.”

“Then I so should have told people he hired me for the weekend.”

Lauren giggled. “That would have been awesome,” she agreed. “But OK. Up ahead. Dad is with my grandmother, the one on the right is my uncle Frank, and his wife Judith, they’re the parents of the bride, and then there’s Aunt Marissa and my cousin Doug, her son.”

“Got it,” Tony said, committing everyone to memory as if this were an undercover op and he needed to blend in.

“Hey, look who I found, Dad,” Lauren smiled and reached up to give Derek a hug and a kiss.

Derek hugged and kissed his daughter, accepted the scotch Tony held out and smiled as he pressed a soft kiss to Tony’s cheek and saw the faint blush rise in Tony’s face.

“Where’s your sister?” he asked Lauren.

“Holly needed something last minute so Cassie’s off on an errand. She’ll be back soon.”

Derek nodded and smiled at his daughter.

“Rumor has it you got a rent-a-date for the weekend,” Lauren teased, making Tony snort with laughter.

“ _That’s_ the story you came up with to hide from Great Aunt Edna?” Derek shook his head, enjoying Tony’s laughter. Tony had been increasingly quiet in recent months. He’d gone away for a classified op, and his boss had been injured. As far as Derek knew, the op had been completed successfully, but Tony had returned quieter and sadder than ever.

Tony smiled, “It crossed my mind it would be funny if that got around.”

“It’ll only make Edna grope you more,” the distinguished silver haired woman with the same blue eyes as Derek’s told him sternly.

Tony suppressed a giggle at the thought of being groped by the little old lady.

“Anthony, I presume?” the woman asked.

Tony took her hand and shook it warmly. He’d almost bent over to kiss her hand, but images of his father doing that stopped him immediately. It was exactly what Senior would do, and it was exactly what Tony was not going to do. “Tony, please,” he insisted.

“Mom, this is Tony DiNozzo. Tony, my mother Deirdre,” Derek started the introductions, and went around, introducing his siblings and their spouses, and his nephew. Tony shook everyone’s hands, smiling pleasantly.

“Finally! We were beginning to think you were a figment of Derek’s imagination,” Judith, Derek’s sister in law told him.

Tony gave her a startled look. Of course Derek had spoken of him to his family, they’d been seeing each other for a year now. But still, it surprised him that they knew about him.

“He’s a pretty one,” Marissa said, looking Tony up and down in appreciation.

“Please refrain from appraising your brother’s boyfriend as if he is a piece of meat,” Deirdre told her daughter. “Although I agree, he is pretty.”

Tony couldn’t help but blush at their scrutiny.

“You sure you didn’t hire him for the weekend?” Marissa elbowed her brother, grinning and showing no signs of remorse.

“I did have to promise him all kinds of things to subject himself to all of you this weekend,” Derek retorted, although his tone was fond.

“He’ll be paying for weeks,” Tony agreed with a grin.

“I understand you’re a federal agent?” Deirdre queried.

“Yes, ma’am,” Tony nodded.

“Which agency?”

“NCIS. Naval Criminal Investigative Service.”

Deirdre nodded approvingly. “Field Agent?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Team Lead?”

“No, ma’am,” Tony shook his head, his lips pressed together in a straight line.

Deirdre gave him a sharp look.

“Mom, can we stop grilling Tony please, and just let him enjoy his drink? He’s had a long week,” Derek cut in.

They settled in to chat quietly, and Tony was pleased that Derek’s family was easy to speak to and not exhausting. He could feel Deirdre’s looks though, but he steered clear of talking about work. Work was a point of contention right now and he just didn’t feel like justifying his decisions to a woman he’d just met. Even if she was Derek’s mother. Especially if she was Derek’s mother. It wasn’t like Tony ever really got to the ‘meet the family’ part of any of his relationships. He didn’t do family. But this wasn’t supposed to be that – he was here so Derek would have a human shield at this wedding. It was like an op, and Tony was good with that.

Then they all sat and ate their dinners, listened to a couple of little speeches, and afterwards they all sat around and chatted comfortably. Derek stayed close to Tony, thinking that he still looked tired and he was still pretty quiet, even though he was sociable and charming to everyone. Tony had been having a hard time at work, and he knew it. He wished he could shake the people Tony worked with. He’d been trying to convince Tony to look at other options. He didn’t come right out and ask him to apply for jobs within his own company, knowing that his boyfriend would never do that. But Tony needed to get out from that stifling atmosphere. Tony’s boss was a bastard and he knew Tony was holding out to be the new team lead after his boss retired. He wanted to lead the MCRT. It was probably why Tony had stuck around at NCIS for so long. But Tony’s boss showed no sign of slowing down, gunshot wounds or no, and seemed to be taking his ill temper out on Tony even more lately.

Even though Tony never talked about it, he knew that Tony was truly upset by how he was being treated. If Derek had any ties to the Navy or the Marines, he would have put a bug in the SecNav’s ear. But he was much more in the Army world. Besides, Tony wouldn’t take well to him stepping on his toes, especially if it involved Derek speaking to the SecDef on his behalf. Tony was skittish about just about everything, and especially he would take any kind of commentary on his career as a personal attack. Derek had learned to just take Tony’s work situation with a grim stoicism, although he tried to subtly encourage him to look around at other options.

After dinner, he persuaded Tony to come for a moonlit walk on the beach with him. They walked in silence, hands brushing each other each step they took, but they were not holding hands. Derek could tell from Tony’s mood that if he interlaced their fingers, Tony would pull away. So they just walked quietly, breathing the salty sea air, allowing their hands to brush together. Then they returned to their room and despite the aggressiveness of their passion earlier, Derek pulled Tony onto the bed, and gently took him apart, making slow, sweet love to him. And when they were sated, he held him, stroking his soft hair until he fell asleep.

For once, Tony fell asleep and slept through the night, not even waking when Derek gently unwrapped himself from around Tony and got out of the bed when morning came. They’d been spooning when Derek woke up, Derek’s chest to Tony’s back and he laid there quietly, breathing in Tony’s scent, forcing himself not to move a muscle for long minutes, enjoying the feel of Tony’s skin on his. He never got to wake up this way, still wrapped around Tony. Tony never slept well, for one. And for another, Tony always left the bed halfway through the night. His sleep was usually nightmare-ridden. Derek was used to waking alone. It was a luxury for him to wake up with Tony still slumbering in his arms, having not physically left the bed. He wanted to savor this experience.

Derek loved it.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that morning, Tony blearily opened his eyes when Derek tried to sneak back into their room. He was sprawled on the bed, lying on his belly, hugging Derek’s pillow. He yawned and blinked sleepily. “Where’dja go?” he mumbled.

“Breakfast.”

“Time ‘s’it?

“Just after nine. Go on back to sleep, baby. You look like you need it.”

Tony yawned and sighed when Derek sat on the bed and began gently caressing the hair on the back of his head. Tony made a token protest and turned his head sideways as if to speak more, but when Derek continued to pet his hair and massage his neck, his eyes closed and he quietly slipped back into sleep.

When Tony opened his eyes again, he checked his phone and found that it was getting close to noon. Not only had he slept through the night but he’d slept the entire morning away as well. He hadn’t even been drunk last night. A couple of scotches spread out through the dinner. That was it. He sat up and found the note and the bottle of water Derek had left for him on the night stand by his phone.

_Baby,_   
_Hanging out with family at the restaurant downstairs. Come join us if you want. No pressure._   
_D_

Tony yawned as he sat up and sent a quick text to Derek.

_Just woke up. Still @restaurant?_

He drank the water, used the bathroom and then returned to his phone. Derek had sent him a reply.

D: _Yup. You coming down?_  
…  
D: _You can just order room service and stay in bed longer if you like._

Tony thought about it for a moment before he dashed off an answer.

_Be there after I shower. Cya in a bit._

There was a momentary pang when he realized that he missed how Derek used to show up in his Contacts list. “Derek ‘Good taste in pizza and men’”. It was how Derek had entered his number on Tony’s phone when they first met. But Tony had been paranoid about his teammates seeing that interesting moniker, so he’d regretfully edited it, leaving it only as Derek’s first initial.

Tony double checked his phone for texts, voicemail, and emails, in case the team got called in or if anyone needed anything at work. Radio silence. He tamped down the unease. As usual he was wondering if the other shoe was going to drop.

Shit, he really needed to figure things out, he thought to himself. He was upset if his days off were disrupted and they got called in unexpectedly, and he worried if they weren’t. On his days off he just kept waiting to be called in instead of allowing himself to decompress. He just wasn’t relaxing. This weekend away was already turning out to be more restful than anticipated. He’d just gotten the best sleep he’s had in months that night. It was a nice change of pace. Things had gotten so weird and unsettled since Gibbs came back after Luke shot him. Tony just didn’t know what to do anymore. If he did his job in a professional manner, Gibbs gave him suspicious looks. If he went back to his happy go lucky frat boy persona, Gibbs spoke to him with disdain, that is, if he bothered to speak to him at all. If Tony just hunkered down and did his job quietly, he still somehow ended up bearing the brunt of Gibbs’ unprovoked wrath. It wasn’t like Gibbs was giving him those affectionate headslaps anymore either. Either Gibbs was vocally making him feel like shit, or he was just staring at him with that ‘you’re nothing to me’ glare and making him feel like shit. Either way, he just couldn’t win anymore and he no longer knew how to act. Where once he and Gibbs had been able to communicate non-verbally, whole conversations with just one look – it had been the stuff of legend – these days Gibbs talked over him and through him, as if he didn’t even exist. And if he tried to make himself known, Gibbs just shot him down with no regard, even during the cases they were working. It was draining Tony completely. He was beyond exhausted. And yet he still couldn’t seem to pull the trigger to leave NCIS. Leave the MCRT.

Leave Gibbs.

He still couldn’t make himself do the thing that he knew he needed to do in order to preserve his own self. He had to think of himself for once, but letting go of Gibbs was still somehow so difficult, even though Gibbs was openly being unwelcoming and awful to him at work. No one would fault him for leaving Gibbs now. Truth was, he needed to leave Gibbs and get over him.

He _desperately_ needed to leave Gibbs and get over him.

In whatever order that that would work. But he needed to get over Gibbs and go on with his life. Years of pining hadn’t made things any easier. He’d been happy once. Happy enough just to be Gibbs’ sort of friend, someone Gibbs talked to outside of work at times. Someone he could spend time with, watching sports, sharing a beer and steaks, sometimes even having meaningful conversations. He knew Gibbs would never feel anything other than slight friendship for someone like him, and he’d been happy enough with that. He’d never asked Gibbs for anything more. As long as Gibbs trusted him implicitly at work, Tony could take whatever scraps of faux affection Gibbs might throw at him outside of work, his own heart be damned. But when Gibbs withdrew even that work camaraderie, and he’d withdrawn it completely, Tony’s heart had broken for the umpteenth time. He knew then that he needed to remove himself from Gibbs’ world. But he’d tried to deny it for a long time now. He didn’t want to admit that it was time to move on. Time to make himself get over Gibbs. But now, it really was time.

He was skilled enough now, he wasn’t some green probie. Hell, he’d had six years police experience even before joining NCIS. He’d never truly been an NCIS probie. And he knew that he was currently being underutilized as Gibbs’ second in command. He could contribute much more now than just play jester and eighth fiddle to Gibbs.

Take the op to take down The Calling and get Daniel Budd. It had been both awful and exhilarating when he’d worked with Dorney’s mother to hunt down Daniel Budd. He’d impressed a whole bunch of people, his own self included, with his performance. Why he was surprised he’d been successful, he didn’t know, since he had singlehandedly successfully tracked down Ziva when she had gone to ground. And Ziva was one tricky son of a bitch. Well, daughter of a bitch. OK daughter of an asshole. By all accounts, her mother had been a perfectly lovely woman. But the truth remained. He’d done excellent work in the international arena _without_ Gibbs. He’d felt a lot of guilt for having to leave his boss on the carrier by himself, going through surgery and whatnot without a friendly face. Hell it had killed him to leave Gibbs. But orders were orders, and there was no way Tony was going to let Budd and The Calling do anything else or harm anyone else. So he’d gone on that manhunt and it had been strangely and bizarrely fun. He’d loved stretching his abilities and running free. He’d hoped to bring Budd in alive, of course, but it really hadn’t been that big a deal when he’d been forced to shoot the man. No great loss to the world. But, returning to NCIS after that had been a little bit of a let down, in all honesty.

Especially when Gibbs returned and became Team Lead again, Tony had felt himself to be superfluous. The team no longer needed him. Oh sure, they needed a fourth body for their case load, but they didn’t need _him_ or his skillset specifically. Any ol’ TAD would have done the job just as well, especially since Gibbs had tightened his leash on Tony. He literally felt like he was a jack in the box stuffed back in willy nilly into a box two sizes too small for him, and the lid slammed on his skills as abruptly as Gibbs could manage it. And it really hurt. It wasn’t even the first time he’d had to stifle his own skill and ambition – the first time it happened, Gibbs had just dumped his things back on his old desk when he returned from his Mexican siesta.

This time he had been smart enough not to try to take Gibbs’ desk so there was nothing Gibbs could dump back on his ‘old’ desk. He knew his ascension to Team Lead was completely temporary. It was always temporary. He didn’t delude himself this time. And ironically, it had actually been a nice experience this time. McGee and Bishop had been supportive teammates, especially since Tony was mostly on this op and leading the MCRT remotely. But it would have been nice if Gibbs had acknowledged that he had done good work in finding Daniel Budd and shutting down the Calling. Just a private ‘thank you’ would have been enough. He didn’t need public acknowledgement. Gibbs didn’t need to do any kind of grand gesture. Tony didn’t expect that from him. Just an ‘attaboy DiNozzo’ said in passing and he would have been flying high. But nope. His reward had only been cold looks and soul-crushing contempt from Gibbs.

So.

It was time to leave Gibbs.

Tony’s heart was pounding loudly in his chest, blood buzzing in his ears as things audibly clicked into place.

_It was time to leave Gibbs._

Pain stabbed through his chest. Pain at the thought of leaving Gibbs. Giving up on the weird friendship he and Gibbs used to have. Giving up on everything he’d built for himself in the past fifteen years. Not that he’d really ended up with anything other than experience and cynicism. Hell, he wasn’t even dumb enough to think that any of his friends at NCIS would understand and be supportive of his decision to leave. At the most, he could count on Jimmy and Ducky to still be his friends, but in all honesty, he figured it was all over for him once he left. Gibbs could make things difficult for both Jimmy and Ducky at work if he disapproved of them remaining his friends. So it was better if he just cut all ties.

But yet. Giving up on their friendship hurt more than he thought it would. And he refused to let himself think about giving up on loving Gibbs. Because he’d loved the bastard for so long now he had no idea how else to be. But he needed to leave. It was time. Long past time. If he stayed, he would lose himself, and have no dignity left. He had to leave. There was no other solution.

Like an anvil falling on his head, the decision was made. He was going to leave Gibbs. Likely he would quit NCIS. With any luck, he would end up either working somewhere out of the country, or somewhere as far away from DC as he could get within the country. His life here was over.

When his heart rate normalized and his mouth stopped feeling bone dry, he sighed. He was strangely OK with this decision.

In fact, his agile mind began thinking out exit strategies. Real ones this time, not pie in the sky scenarios like he’d dreamed up when he was little. When he was little he’d fantasized that if he ran away from home, his father would suddenly realize that he couldn’t live without his beloved son and scour the world until Tony was found. There would be a tearful hug fest of a reunion and his father would suddenly reform and be the best father in the world. Little Anthony would give him homemade lopsided ceramic mugs with ‘World’s Best Dad’ sloppily painted on with his own two little hands, and Senior would hug him and thank him and take the mug to work to use every day so everyone would know how much Tony loved his father. But even back then, even when he was a child, Tony knew that these fantasies were nothing but stupid, unrealistic dreams. In reality, it was best to hide from Senior and hope that he didn’t attract Senior’s attention. Senior would as soon punch him as hug him. And that was better than how he thought Gibbs felt about him these days. Gibbs would just as soon punch him as punch him.

Yup. No question. It was time to leave Gibbs. His feelings for Gibbs would never be requited, and even their little friendship was being thrown back in his face. He was going to pick up and leave. Again. And this time it would be the hardest thing he ever did. But he needed to do it. And he needed to do it in such a way that Gibbs couldn’t make him feel bad about himself. Some kind of upward move – he was not going to accept a lateral move. Not anymore. He wanted to do more and be more. Upward move, and if at all possible, a physical move that would take him as far away from DC as possible. That would be ideal. His experience in working ops internationally would certainly be a positive. He could definitely find something bigger and better than what he had now. He would miss his friends and his co-workers, certainly, that is if they still wanted to be his friends. Better not to even count on that. But at least he would be his own man again. He needed to be able to look at himself in the mirror and not feel reduced anymore. He wasn’t somehow _less_ just because Gibbs didn’t want him anymore. He’d spent his entire childhood feeling unwanted, so it was a bitter pill to swallow that Gibbs now made him feel this same way. Tony tried not to long for those early days, those heady early days where Gibbs might have been gruff, but he’d been able to feel the affection the man felt for him. He couldn’t think of those days anymore. He had to think of what was best for himself in the here and now.

It was time Tony did some things for his own good. No more staying on the team because they needed him. At this point it was time Tony did the things he needed to do.

No more holding himself back.

No more letting the idea of Gibbs hold him back.

He could practically feel the road calling to him, the siren song of reinventing himself yet again becoming harder and harder to resist.

It was time.

But maybe it could wait until after this weekend was over. This weekend was for Derek.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was a day late. I slept some but by the time I was ready to edit and post this chapter, AO3 was down for maintenance. And they said it would be down for a few hours. So I missed my posting window. But here it is now.
> 
> There will be one more chapter tomorrow, then the story will be done.
> 
> Hope y'all like it.

This weekend was for Derek. Tony was definitely thinking about work too much. He’d made his decision. It was the right decision. There was no going back now. But he could work out the details later.

Sighing, Tony dragged himself into the shower, telling himself not to worry about things and to put it all out of his mind, at least for right now. He was supposed to be Derek’s shield. He didn’t want to let his melancholy color Derek’s niece’s wedding. He was to be Derek’s eye candy and arm candy and hold the wolves at bay for this weekend. He could do that. Easy enough role to handle.

A half hour later, a freshly showered Tony found Derek, his sister, and surprisingly Derek’s brother, the father of the bride, sitting at the bar in the hotel restaurant. Tony was casually dressed in faded jeans, sneakers, an OSU t-shirt and a brown leather jacket, his hair still damp from the shower. He settled into the chair next to Derek which Frank, Derek’s brother, hastily vacated to allow them to sit next to each other. Frank moved to sit next to Marissa across from them with an easy smile. Tony pulled his phone out and placed it on the table where he could keep a close eye on it. Rule #3 was ingrained into him.

“Sleeping beauty awakens,” Marissa teased him.

Tony gave everyone a sheepish grin. “I don’t know what happened,” he shrugged.

“You’re exhausted and working yourself to death, is what happened,” Derek’s tone was grim.

Tony gave him a sharp look, and Derek sighed and took his hand, muttering a quiet apology.

“So I guess you solve crimes then?” Frank asked, his tone curious. “Mom says you’re a field agent with NCIS.”

Tony nodded, pursing his lips. Derek kicked his brother’s shin under the table.

“How’s a Navy cop end up dating an ex-Green Beret?” Frank asked, grinning slightly, understanding that Derek wanted to steer the conversation away from Tony’s work and cooperating with him. “I didn’t think Army and Navy really got along.”

Tony grinned back and began telling them the amusing story of how they met. That in being Tony’s knight in shining armor, he’d not only accidentally fed Tony his favorite pizza which turned out to be the last meal he’d eaten for the next twenty four hours or so, but he had also spared some persistent asshole the ass whupping of the century.

“Personally, I was kind of looking forward to beating the shit out of the guy,” Tony rolled his eyes. “Just on principle. But no. Your brother here had to step in and stop anything from escalating. Damn voice of reason,” Tony grumbled but his voice was warm and the look he gave Derek was one of gentle fondness.

“Eh, it would have been no contest,” Derek told him. “He was soft. It would’ve been a truly boring fight. You wouldn’t have gotten any satisfaction out of it.”

“Meh. Maybe a _little_ satisfaction,” Tony countered. “He was a smug son of a bitch. Would’ve been nice to rough him up a bit, damn gym rat that he was. See how pretty people think he is with a black eye.”

“I dunno. _You’re_ still pretty when you come home with a black eye and all beat up,” Derek objected.

“That’s cause you’re a sap,” Tony snorted. “Somebody pass me the coffee. I’ll just sit here quietly and imagine that I got to kick that dude’s ass while the caffeine kicks in.”

“I can still track him down for you if you like, baby,” Derek offered.

Tony laughed. “I’m over it now, Derek. But thank you.”

“Maybe there’ll be some asshole you can beat up at the reception tonight!” Marissa suggested brightly, making them all laugh.

“There’s bound to be,” Derek agreed. “Frank did spring for an open bar.”

“Let’s just hope the drunk asshole that needs his ass kicked tonight isn’t me,” Tony shook his head, making the table laugh again.

They ordered lunch when they realized that it was lunch time and Tony’s belly was growling audibly by this time. Their conversation was easy, with the siblings ribbing each other good-naturedly. Familiar banter, by the sound of it, Tony thought. Everyone steered clear of the obviously prickly subject of Tony’s work.

Afterwards, Tony and Derek went for another walk on the beach, ending up sitting quietly together on the sand despite the chill in the air, gazing out at the ocean. Derek had his arm around Tony’s shoulder, and Tony was leaning his entire body against Derek, head pillowed on Derek’s chest, arms folded across his own chest, hugging himself. They mostly had the beach to themselves, none of the summer hordes were present. Just the odd person walking on the beach at rare intervals, some of them walking their dogs. Tony focused on the waves crashing in an oddly soothing arrhythmic intervals, and the feeling of being protected, Derek’s strong arms around him, and emptied his mind of everything else. He felt safe and calm here. It was a good feeling. It was liberating.

They stayed that way until it was time to get ready for the wedding.

The ceremony took place in a lovely old church a few miles from the hotel. Tony and Derek walked there and back, mostly trying to stay on the beach, wanting to recapture the intimacy of the afternoon and the previous night. However, after the ceremony, they walked back with a group of people, and this time Tony held hands with Derek. Tony was charming and friendly and quickly found that he was actually having a good time hanging out with Derek’s family. He didn’t feel like he needed to freak out or feel pressured about meeting Derek’s mother, given that Derek knew full well that they weren’t seriously dating. He’d always been open with Derek about what he wanted. Tony was hanging out and enjoying himself, enjoying being with Derek, because that was what they did. There was nothing serious about their relationship and that was what he wanted. What they both wanted. That was how it was – they had fun together in a no pressure, no strings attached, no expectations or commitments relationship. It worked for them.

Mischievously, Tony started spreading the rumor that Derek had in fact, paid him to be his boyfriend for the weekend to put off the people who were ready to be Derek’s matchmakers. Sometime during the reception, he found people handing him their cards, asking him about the services he provided, his discretion, non-disclosure agreements, and quite a few of them asking him to call them as they were in need of his services. The requests came from both men and women, some of them even ostensibly married.

Tony kept slipping these cards into Derek’s pocket – Derek was tallying the number of cards Tony received. Plus it would be pretty hilarious to see who exactly had expressed interest in renting a boyfriend.

But when Lauren came stomping over and flicked a business card at Tony, her expression stormy, Derek had to stop her from punching the giggling Tony in the arm.

“This is for you, I think,” Lauren whispered, keeping her voice low.

Tony snickered, picking the card up off the floor and slipping it into Derek’s pocket.

“You are not seriously telling people you’re Dad’s rent-a-boyfriend?” Lauren hissed in disbelief.

Tony held up his hands and gave her a guilty grin. “Maybe?”

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Why the fuck are you doing that?”

“Language, Lauren,” Derek said gently.

Lauren turned and gave her father a scathing look. “You’re encouraging this behavior!” she said accusingly.

“It’s funny to see how many people believe I paid Tony to be my date,” Derek shrugged.

“It’s fucking hilarious, is what it is,” Tony shook his head.

Lauren snorted in disgust. “Well, I for one, have been dispelling these rumors,” she said, her expression mutinous. “I can’t believe you both.”

“It’s just a little bit of fun,” Tony sounded apologetic.

“Do you at least have the excuse that you’re both plastered?” Lauren was slightly mollified. She liked Tony. She thought he was good for her Dad, and Dad was good for him.

Tony and Derek exchanged a look. “Which answer would make you less angry?” Tony asked.

Marissa, who had been standing with them, couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the exchange. “You know it’s not a good thing when your youngest child calls you on your idiotic behavior in public,” she told Derek.

“Hey, on the plus side, I know what other possibilities there might be for me, career-wise?” Tony said, keeping his tone light, even though a slight stab went through him. He was going to quit his job. He’d decided. And he would do it soon. Then he could start a rent-a-boyfriend service with the cards he’d gotten just today! Mental rolleyes.

“Well, _that_ makes it all better,” Lauren rolled her eyes.

“And, I should be really excited about the fact that people think my boyfriend is hot enough to have been a paid escort,” Derek said, waggling his eyebrows at Tony.

“Rent-a-boyfriend,” Tony corrected him, even though he blushed at the compliment, which Marissa found oddly endearing.

“If you guys don’t stop this bullshit, the next time someone hands me a card to give to you, Tony, I am going to take that gun off your belt and shoot them in the foot myself,” Lauren threatened. “You hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Tony looked properly chastised.

“Did more than one person hand you their card for Tony?” Derek asked.

Lauren sighed, pulled a few more cards out of her little purse, and gave them to her father. Derek looked at them, making a face and showing Tony one of them, which made Tony gawk a little.

“I’m not sure if I should be flattered or if I should run screaming,” Tony said thoughtfully.

“My vote is run screaming,” Derek put the cards in his pocket.

“Now you two, _behave_ ,” Lauren told them sternly.

“Yes, ma’am,” Tony and Derek answered in unison, making Lauren roll her eyes at them again, before she disappeared in an annoyed poofy puff of pastel. The bridesmaids dresses were actually quite flattering but definitely poofy and pastel.

“Ah, well,” Tony’s tone was philosophical. “I guess I’m retired from this boyfriend experience business.”

“Easy come, easy go,” Derek said agreeably. “Hey, do I get my money back?”

Marissa laughed again when Tony elbowed Derek in response.

When the dancing began, Tony ended up dancing with Derek’s mother, Marissa, and both Lauren and Cassie. He even ended up enduring a _very_ hands on dance with Great Aunt Edna, trying to minimize his indignant yelps when she kept squeezing his sensitive bits (front _and_ back!) while she held him as close as she possibly could. He escaped as quickly as he could, face bright red when the dance was over and feeling more than a little violated. Why he thought it was a good idea to dance with her, he didn’t know, but it was definitely the last dance that woman would have with him, he vowed, suppressing a shudder when Edna managed to goose him one last time as he tried to scamper off the dance floor.

Then Derek danced with him for a few songs, holding him close. At one point, Derek’s hand wandered down onto Tony’s ass and Tony melted into his arms.

“You’ve touched me all over with not just your hands and you’ve been far less invasive than your Aunt Edna,” Tony griped.

“I told you to run if she asked you to dance,” Derek said glibly, kissing Tony’s hand, clasped gently in his. “You should’ve listened to me.”

Tony rolled his eyes and murmured a quiet agreement. Then the band started a cover of _Tennessee Whiskey_. Derek pulled him closer as they swayed to the music, his hands roaming all over Tony’s body.

To Derek’s surprise, Tony began humming along to the first verse quietly, barely audible even to him. And when he began singing along with the chorus, Derek was lost. Tony had never sung for him before. His voice was like molten chocolate, dark, smooth and melodious.

_You're as smooth as Tennessee whiskey_  
_You're as sweet as strawberry wine_  
_You're as warm as a glass of brandy_  
_And honey, I stay stoned on your love all the time_

And the words that Tony was singing quietly… Derek realized that he probably wasn’t even aware that he was singing along. But the words made Derek’s heart speed up.

_I've looked for love in all the same old places_  
_Found the bottom of a bottle always dry_  
_But when you poured out your heart I didn't waste it_  
_'Cause there's nothing like your love to get me high_

By the end of the song, Derek was practically assaulting Tony with deep kisses, right out on the dance floor. Tony melted into his arms and plastered himself to Derek’s body, moaning when Derek’s tongue stroked against his and Derek’s kiss turned demanding and possessive.

It took a little while – at least halfway through the next song – for Tony to pull away. They were still swaying on the dance floor, but their dance was getting way too x-rated to continue there. Derek’s blue eyes were dark with lust, and his hard cock was digging into Tony’s hip.

Derek grabbed his hand and yanked him off the dance floor, heading towards the ballroom exit.

“Upstairs?” Tony panted.

“Too far. Can’t wait. Here,” Derek seemed incapable of anything more than monosyllabic words. He pushed Tony into the nearby men’s room which, luckily, was unoccupied. It was a fancy hotel. Even the men’s rooms were fancy. Derek pulled him through the spacious sitting area, and to the stalls. The stalls were also fancy – each one was large and spacious, with real floor to ceiling walls and full doors, sturdy wooden doors at that. No one would be able to peek into their stall, not from any direction, unless they could see through walls and solid wooden doors. He pushed Tony into the farthest stall, striding in after, and locking the door behind him.

Derek shoved him against the back wall, and kissed him, tilting his face, slotting their lips together, licking into Tony’s mouth and sucking on his tongue as his hand deftly unbuckled Tony’s pants, undid his button and zipper and shoved the pants down. They slid to the floor in a quiet susurration of expensive material, and Tony’s hard cock was exposed. No underwear.

Good _god_ it was hot. Derek loved the fact that Tony rarely wore underwear. Absolutely loved it.

He dropped to his knees and nuzzled Tony’s thighs wider, sucking bruises on the inside of Tony’s thighs before he held Tony’s hips firmly and wrapped his lips around Tony’s hard cock and hungrily swallowed him down. Tony’s strangled cry was loud in the bathroom.

“Shhhh,” Derek urged him around Tony’s very hard cock, causing Tony to gasp and pant, trying to keep silent while Derek’s tongue swirled around the head of his cock and he swallowed him down all the way to the root.

“Fuck, Derek, oh fuck fuck, oh, oh hhhhhhhuhh,” Tony moaned softly, when Derek released his hips and allowed him to thrust in and out of his mouth. When it seemed like Tony was about to burst, Derek pulled off, smiling when the younger man stuffed his fist in his mouth to stop the wail of protest. He kept a firm hold of the base of Tony’s dick, holding off his orgasm, and stood, claiming Tony’s mouth again. Without breaking the kiss, Derek undid his own pants and drew out his cock.

“I want you right now, baby,” he whispered softly. They were in a public restroom at his niece’s wedding after all.

“Enough chatter. Shut up and fuck me,” Tony whispered back fiercely, reaching down and fisting Derek’s hard cock. He slid a condom out of his jacket pocket. Derek pulled away to tear the condom open and slide it on while Tony kissed his way down Derek’s jawline, and sucked a hickey on his neck.

“I don’t have…” Derek started to say before Tony pulled a little tube out of his pocket and squeezed lube onto his lover’s sheathed dick. Derek spread it around with a couple of long strokes, smiling predatorily at his boyfriend.

“Always prepared,” Tony whispered in Derek’s ear before he nipped on his earlobe and licked the shell of it. Then he started to turn around.

“No!” Derek hissed, keeping Tony facing him. “Like this. I want to look at you when you come.”

He unbuttoned Tony’s shirt as quickly as he could, pushed both ends of the shirt aside, and kissed his way down to Tony’s nipple, making the younger man arch and hiss in pleasure. Tony spread his legs and Derek eased a lubed finger into Tony’s ass, causing him to moan helplessly. Tony was still somewhat loose, but definitely needed more prep.

“I’m good,” Tony insisted. “Just fuck me open. Please.”

Derek lubed him up as best he could, wedged himself in between Tony’s legs and kissed him hard. Tony hitched one leg up around Derek’s hip, and Derek lifted him up pinning him against the wall, both arms securely under Tony’s thighs while the younger man wrapped his legs around his waist and locked his ankles together, still keeping their lips sealed.

Tony reached down and positioned Derek’s hard cock against his entrance, and slowly, slowly, Derek pushed in and lowered Tony down. Tony threw his arms around Derek’s neck, clutching hard as Derek’s cock entered him and opened him up. He was tight. It was going to burn. He wanted it to burn.

He moaned softly, trying not to clench around Derek’s cock, trying to relax his muscles, allowing him to ease in.

“OK?” Derek panted.

Tony nodded and his entire body clenched spasmodically around Derek when he finally bottomed out.

“ _Fuck_ , baby, you’re so tight,” Derek gasped.

“Shhh. Let’s go. Fuck me,” Tony growled, trying to bounce up and down on Derek.

“Eager,” Derek whispered, before he started fucking up into Tony, thrusting in and out, holding him securely, pinning him to the wall. They tried to contain their noises, but it was hard. Tony was hot and tight around Derek, and Derek just kept fucking hard into Tony, at that angle, rubbing against his prostate with every thrust. Tony bit his lip, bit his tongue, bit the inside of his mouth, fighting to contain his moans, knowing that anyone walking in right now would be able to hear them. Derek just kept his mouth on Tony’s neck, sucking hard on it, even clamping down and biting him to muffle his sounds.

That they could so easily be caught only made it that much more exciting.

That Derek had Tony pinned up against the wall, holding him up in his arms was a huge turn on, too. Tony loved that his ex-Green Beret was still badass enough to fuck him up against the wall. Derek made him, no lightweight himself, feel like he was small and delicate. And fuck, could the man fuck the bejesus out of him.

Tony began jerking his own cock, hand moving fast, and with every powerful thrust, little “hhhuhhh, unhhh, uhhh, mmmfff,” noises were punched out of him, despite his efforts to silence himself.

“You close?” Derek gasped, hips pistoning upwards, arm muscles beginning to burn.

“Fuck yeah,” Tony whimpered, feeling his orgasm approaching. “Yeah, yeah, don’t stop. Don’t stop.”

Stifling another groan in Tony’s neck, Derek sped up, hips beginning to stutter. “Shit, shit,” he panted. “Can’t stop, fuck. You feel so fucking good. Too fucking good.”

Tony’s little noises sped up and Derek knew Tony was about to come. He barely held on, continuing to fuck into him, until three, four, five thrusts later, Tony let out a loud groan, threw his head back, hitting the wall with a resounding crack, and came, long spurts erupting from his cock, his ass clenching down on Derek, fingers milking him through his orgasm, and a couple of thrusts later, Derek couldn’t hold back and he drove himself deep into Tony’s body and his cock pulsed into the condom as he cried out and came hard.

Derek’s knees were starting to buckle at the force of his climax. Rather than let go of Tony, Derek flicked the toilet seat cover down with one foot and sat down with Tony straddling him, his softening dick still inside him. He wrapped his arms around him, held Tony close, feeling Tony’s heart beating rapidly in his chest, sweat running down his bared torso, his breaths coming in ragged pants.

Finally, when they had both recovered, Tony’s smile took his breath away.

“We have a room upstairs,” he chided gently, keeping his voice low.

“I couldn’t wait,” Derek shrugged.

Tony sighed, his smile softening, a gentle gleam in his green eyes, and he leaned in and kissed Derek, a long, slow kiss, all lips, tongue and teeth.

“Pretty sure people heard us in here,” Tony whispered.

“I don’t give a shit,” Derek whispered back.

“And turns out you did fuck me in a public restroom in this hotel. Didn’t we talk about how this _wasn’t_ going to happen yesterday?”

“I don’t remember agreeing that it wasn’t going to happen,” Derek was all innocence.

“Maniac,” Tony’s tone was fond. He reached over, pulled a large handful of toilet paper and began cleaning the drying cum off his chest. “At least my shirt was spared,” he looked at his open shirt. Miraculously his cum had landed on his chest and not on either half of his gaping shirt. He looked at Derek’s shirt and made a face. “Yours, not so much.”

“I’ll run upstairs and put on a clean shirt. You cover for me in the ballroom. How’s your head? I think you hit it hard on the wall.”

Tony stretched his neck gingerly. “I’m OK. No concussion.”

Derek snorted. He’d already nursed Tony through a couple of concussions during their time together. And those were only the ones that he knew about. Who knew if Tony had hidden other concussions or other injuries from him.

Tony laughed softly. Groaning, he stood and they disposed of the condom and toilet paper, flushing everything down. Tony pulled his pants back on and spent some time wiping his chest down with wet paper towels. He balled up his bow tie and stuffed it into his jacket pocket and looked at himself in the mirror. His hair definitely looked like he’d been having sex in the bathroom, his cheeks were still flushed from the orgasm, but his clothes seemed OK. Just the usual slightly disheveled and crumpled end of night tuxedo look. His ass ached pleasantly with every step. He sniffed himself and made a face.

“Just spill some booze on yourself,” Derek told him. “It’ll cover the smell. People will just think you’re a lush instead of a nymphomaniac.”

Tony grinned and shook his head. “What about this?” he pointed to the huge hickey at the base of his neck. “I think I see teethmarks. I think people will know who the nympho is, and I’m pretty sure they won’t think it’s me,” he winked.

“Sorry, baby,” Derek looked guilty.

“I guess I’m wearing turtlenecks to work for a while,” Tony rolled his eyes, still smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll put more about the song in the end notes in tomorrow's (the final) chapter, but in case you wanted to check it out, [this is the version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UC73qZ_oRo) I imagined Tony singing along with.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for posting this late but I got too sleepy last night. I edited and got the chapter ready to post but I was sure that if I did it would totally be full of typos and errors because I was just so sleepy. So here it is. A little late. My apologies.
> 
> I'm still very sleepy tonight so I'm hoping that I didn't bungle the final edits too badly. Please do let me know if you spot anything. I will try to fix it. :)

They righted themselves as best they could, although there was no help for Derek’s cum-covered shirt. He buttoned his jacket up to try and cover it a little, gave Tony a quick hard kiss, and slipped out of the bathroom to go up to their room for a fresh shirt. In the meantime, Tony went back to the ballroom and headed straight for the bar again.

Armed with a scotch, he sat in a quiet corner and watched as the bride and the groom danced some more. His heart ached to see them, so young and hopeful and so in love. How would things have gone for him and Wendy if she hadn’t left him at the altar? Would they have had a beautiful wedding? Would they have had a good life together? If they started out happy, would it have lasted? Probably not. Not likely to have lasted, given the way she had ended their relationship. He’d been so young and so naïve. He’d thought that he was making her happy, that they loved each other, and that that would be enough. But it hadn’t been enough. And when Gibbs had forced him to confront her that time on that case, the things she’d said then. She hadn’t been ready to meet the one, wasn’t ready for commitment. But yet she’d claimed that he _was_ the one. If he was the one and they’d already met, had even agreed to get married, how exactly was she not ready? In that case, then how _could_ he even be the one? How did that even make any sense? And then she’d rushed off to marry some rich guy? What was he supposed to think? He could barely believe her. He understood cold feet and being afraid of commitment, she definitely taught him that lesson. But she had thrown him away because she was scared. Still, she wasn’t so scared to have strung him along, making him think that she wanted to marry him. And in doing so, she had fucked him up with how things ended.

There was a reason why he made it clear from the beginning of all of his dalliances that he was not just not interested but also incapable of being in any kind of serious relationship. Wendy had only been the next in a long line of people who claimed to love Tony and yet proceeded to shred his heart and kick him where it hurt.

And then there was Gibbs. He’d met him during another traumatic time in his life. Break of trust with Danny, break of trust with Wendy. And Gibbs had been a beacon of strength and truth. Gibbs was straightforward, spoke his mind, and had clear cut rules. Discipline for Tony. It had been indescribably sexy. He’d fallen hard for the man. Truthfully it had been the partial reason for him to take Gibbs’ offer of a job. Even though the whole thing with Wendy was burning a hole in his heart at the time, he’d fallen for Gibbs. He’d stayed in love with the man, and he’d buried it all as deep as he could so no one would suspect. And now after all these years of loving Gibbs… No. He wasn’t going to think about that tonight.

“Penny for your thoughts,” a quiet voice made him jump.

He stared up blankly for a second before he recognized her. “Agent Del Valle?” he stammered.

“Agent DiNozzo,” Del Valle greeted him solemnly. “May I join you?”

Tony nodded and gestured to a chair, automatically rising to his feet and sitting when she had seated herself. Sandra Del Valle was FBI, someone he’d worked with during the Daniel Budd manhunt. She sat and looked at the dance floor, smiling softly at the sight of the groom happily twirling his bride.

“The groom’s parents are old friends of my family,” Del Valle volunteered.

Tony nodded dumbly.

“I’ve known him since he was born.”

Tony nodded again, clearing his throat.

“Didn’t expect to see anyone I knew here,” Del Valle continued.

“Me neither,” Tony gave her a glance, wondering what the outcome was going to be of this encounter. As far as he knew, no one from NCIS, or from any other agency of work, knew about his non-heterosexual extra curriculars. Maybe this was the kick in the pants that he needed to just move as far away as possible from DC?

“People are still talking about what you did, tracking down Budd, dismantling The Calling,” Del Valle’s voice was soft. “It was quite impressive.”

“It was a team effort,” Tony whispered.

“You did really good work there.”

“Is it in the past, then?” Tony asked numbly. “The good work I used to do.” Tony made a vague gesture with his hand, somehow conveying that he meant because Del Valle knew about his not-so-straight tendencies, and if that could affect his career.

Del Valle laid a gentle hand on his tense arm. “It doesn’t matter to me that you’re Holly’s uncle’s boyfriend,” she finally said. “Doesn’t matter who anyone fucks. Or loves. Only matters how they do the job.”

Tony nodded again, his voice refusing to work.

“You did unbelievably good work,” she continued.

Tony gave her a small smile. It was nice to hear those words, even if they didn’t come from Gibbs or his own team.

“I can’t believe they didn’t promote you right away,” Del Valle looked at him sharply.

Tony shrugged. “It’s not the NCIS way,” he finally muttered.

Del Valle frowned. “That’s a shitty way of doing things,” she said bluntly. “Credit where credit’s due.”

Tony resisted the urge to give a tremendous disbelieving snort. Instead, he gave her another half-hearted shrug. “What can you do,” he sighed.

“Leave,” Del Valle said fiercely.

Tony stared at her in shock. “What?”

“Leave NCIS. You would do better in a larger setting.”

“ _What_?” Tony repeated, unable to wrap his mind around what Del Valle was saying. She had known him what, a few weeks? And she had already come to the same conclusion that had taken him well over a decade to figure out.

Del Valle pulled out a card and jotted down a number on the back of it. “My Director’s number. You should call him. He’s been wanting to talk to you about your options.”

Tony stared at her, silenced by where this conversation was going. Not only was Del Valle unfazed by his relationship with Derek, she’d complimented his work and had basically told him to call the FBI for a job.

“Ever since the op, I’ve been looking into you, Agent DiNozzo. You caught my Director’s eye. Your work at NCIS, and at the three different police departments was exemplary and consistently well above expectations. Certainly above and beyond what is called for. You employ a lot of creativity and out of the box thinking in solving crimes. Your team’s solve rate never wavered, even when your team lead was AWOL for months. I also know that your work has also been consistently unappreciated and underrated by NCIS. All accolades go to your team lead. You barely even have any commendations from your time at NCIS,” Del Valle’s tone was serious and she met Tony’s gaze calmly. “You should call my Director. The FBI will appreciate your talents better.”

Tony gawked at her.

Del Valle smiled. “Also, it’s come to my attention that people think Holly’s uncle – who’s pretty damn hot, so kudos, bro,” she nudged him, wiggling an eyebrow playfully, “yeah people think that Holly’s uncle’s boyfriend is a paid escort of some sort? Either that, or he’s a secret agent. And if he told you, he’d have to kill you.”

Tony snorted with laughter at that, unable to stop himself.

“’Course then I heard from Holly’s cousin, one of the bridesmaids, that you actually started the escort rumor yourself.”

Tony couldn’t help it, he roared with laughter and nodded. “I’m not an escort. It’s rent-a-boyfriend,” he corrected her primly. “I provide the entire boyfriend experience.”

Del Valle rolled her eyes. “Your boyfriend didn’t mind?”

“He’s keeping all the cards people have been handing me tonight,” Tony admitted, shaking his head. “He’s something else.”

She turned and saw Derek approaching them. “He’s coming over. Introduce me? He’s someone else that would be important to network with.”

Tony nodded.

Derek came over, all cleaned up. He dropped a kiss on Tony’s lips, grinning at the dazed look in his eye, attributing it to their recent sexcapade. “You OK, baby?” he asked quietly.

Tony nodded and introduced him to Sandra Del Valle. Del Valle made small talk, and when it came out how she and Tony knew each other, she gushed about the op that she’d been a part of without divulging any sensitive information, and of Tony’s investigative talents, making Tony blush. Finally, she excused herself. Before she left, she leaned up and whispered in Tony’s ear, reminding him to call her Director, kissed his cheek, and disappeared.

“What was that all about?” Derek asked curiously.

Tony turned to him, still looking stunned. “Job offer,” he whispered, showing him the card with the Director’s name and number handwritten on the back. He carefully slipped it into his inside jacket pocket. This card he would keep. This card was important. This card was a sign that the decision to leave Gibbs and NCIS was the right one.

“You’re actually considering it?” Derek was surprised.

“Yeah,” Tony nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think so.”

Derek’s smile was brilliant. “Good. Cause you were already so unhappy about work when we met and it’s only gone downhill since then.”

Tony nodded his agreement. He downed his scotch and gasped. “Did I tell you what a fucking _awesome_ wedding this was?” he asked, and the genuine smile that accompanied the question was so bright it pretty much blinded Derek for a few moments.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Derek was pleasantly awakened by Tony’s mouth on his cock, and Tony gave him a thorough blow job, stopping right before Derek was about to find his release. Tony pulled off with a wet pop, a long thread of saliva dripping from his lips to the top of Derek’s hard cock, and he grinned mischievously at Derek’s agonized groan.

“Fuck, baby, I’m so close,” Derek moaned in complaint, hips arching upwards, trying to thrust himself back into Tony’s mouth.

Tony carefully rolled a condom on Derek before he threw a leg over and straddled him. He leaned down and claimed Derek’s lips. “I know. But you’ll like this next part, too.”

And slowly, slowly, Tony eased down, and Derek’s cock was pushing into Tony’s well prepared and lubed ass.

“Oh fuck, baby,” Derek gasped, clutching at Tony’s hips, reveling in how Tony felt, his passage hugging him tighter than a glove. Tony moved slowly, torturing Derek, inching him in slowly, slowly until finally his balls were snug against Tony’s ass.

“Yeah,” Tony sighed.

Derek watched Tony’s face as he impaled himself. His eyes were shut, and he kept biting a corner of his bottom lip while the other side of his mouth quirked upwards in pleasure. His forehead was smooth, and his expression one of quiet bliss.

“You good?” Derek whispered, loving the serenity in Tony’s expression. Serene was not something he saw much in Tony.

Tony’s eyelids fluttered open and he moaned as he moved a little, just a tiny bit up and down again, clenching tightly. “Yeah,” he moaned.

Derek stared up at him for a suspended moment before he moved again, eyelids fluttering closed again with another soft moan. And that was it. They moved together, Tony moving up and down and Derek thrusting up hard, their movements in rhythmic synchrony. There was none of the desperate urgency of the previous night. They rocked together in perfect, serene harmony, intent on pleasing each other and achieving orgasm, unhurriedly moving towards completion.

When they had both come, Tony rolled off Derek breathlessly, and laid on his back. Derek propped himself up on one elbow and ran his fingers gently over Tony’s face, touching his closed eyes, petting his long lashes and his nose, running his fingers on his high cheekbones, then ghosting down to caress his lips. Tony sighed deeply and leaned into his touch, a tiny smile quirking his lips.

Derek’s fingers found their way into Tony’s hair, stroking through the short, silky strands gently, and Tony’s eyelids became heavier and heavier. He couldn’t stop the huge yawns from escaping.

“Go on back to sleep, baby,” Derek’s voice was soothing. “I’m hosting a wedding brunch for whoever’s still around at the private dining room downstairs so I’ll head on down there in an hour or so. Just come on down when you’re ready?”

“Mm-hmm,” Tony mumbled. He was so relaxed and so comfortable, and so goddamned sleepy all of a sudden. He’d had so much trouble sleeping in the past few months but he’d slept through the night both nights here with Derek, and still could sleep some more, evidently. Plus he’d just been working non-stop so it was nice to be relaxed, lazy and coddled for once. Sleeping in sounded like an excellent idea. With his eyes closed, he turned his head and kissed Derek’s wrist, the older man’s fingers still carding through his hair gently. And he allowed himself to be dragged back to sleep, enjoying the sensation of Derek’s fingers in his hair, and the lovely feeling of sated, leaden limbs and drowsy sluggishness that felt almost luxurious.

When Tony woke up, he was alone in their room. He sent Derek a quick text to let him know he was going to hit the shower and to make sure there was tons of coffee waiting for him. Then he did his usual double check of his voicemail, his work voicemail, texts and emails – nothing pressing – before he jumped in the shower, dressed and headed down.

The hotel apparently did a brisk Sunday brunch business, and the hostess just pointed to where the private dining room was, way in the back, letting Tony make his way over there on his own so she could seat people in the restaurant proper. An ornately carved privacy screen blocked the doorway to the private room but before Tony could slip around it, he heard his name spoken, and he froze, unsure if he should interrupt this unseen conversation.

“So how come Tony has never been married, and never had a real long term relationship?” Tony thought it was Marissa’s voice asking the question.

“It’s none of my business,” Derek’s voice was careful. “I’m just ensuring that he’s happy now.”

“Tony’s awesome,” Lauren added staunchly. “He’s sweet and thoughtful.”

“But?” Marissa wanted to know.

“No buts. He’s an interesting guy.” Tony’s heart rose at Lauren’s defense of him. Derek’s daughters were both sweethearts, but he definitely had somehow formed a bond with Lauren over the past year.

“He has a dangerous job.”

“Oh please. Dad used to be a Green Beret,” Tony could practically hear Lauren roll her eyes.

“Anyway, let’s not marry me off to Tony already, huh?” Derek interrupted them. “This is not what he wants.”

Tony heard a loud sigh and a long, pregnant pause. “Look, I can tell that you love him, Derek,” Marissa continued. “He cares for you but I don’t know if he loves you. Does he? Love you?”

“Well, of course Tony loves Dad,” Lauren’s starting to sound pissed.

“Doesn’t matter how I feel or how Tony feels. He’s not ready for commitment. It’s not his thing. He’s always been up front about that.”

“But you are, though.” Marissa was persistent.

“It’s not how things work between us.”

“So you’re OK just having today and nothing for the future?”

“I just want Tony to be happy,” Derek snapped.

“Well what about you? Are _you_ happy?” For a split second, Tony was impressed with Marissa’s interrogation techniques, but just as quickly he was horrified by what he was hearing.

“Leave it, please, Marissa. Can we not fight about this?” Derek sounded sad. “Let’s just have a nice brunch together, and be thankful that for once Tony gets a nice lie in.”

“But you _love_ him.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter. It _should_ matter.”

Derek sighed.

Tony backed away and rushed to the men’s room – thankfully, a different one than the one from the previous night – to gather himself. Shit, shit, shit. Derek loved him? Derek wasn’t supposed to love him! They were supposed to be a fun, casual relationship. They weren’t supposed to have any messy complicated feelings to deal with. Tony had enough messy complicated feelings about Gibbs that he hasn’t handled yet, he can’t take any more complications. Besides, it was their agreement! It was their goddamned agreement!

And granted, it wasn’t like Derek had ever make Tony feel like he wanted more, necessarily. He’d just always been there for Tony and given him everything he needed, usually without him even ever needing to ask for it.

Oh shit. Of _course_ Derek loved him! That was what people did when they loved someone. They were there for them, and gave them things that made them happy. Look at all the fucking care and attention that Tony had lavished on Gibbs with no hope of reciprocation all these years?

Holy mother of god. Derek loved him. And there was no hope of reciprocation in their relationship either.

Tony took a long moment to calm himself.

He couldn’t allow Derek to continue to be hurt in this relationship. He couldn’t allow Derek to continue to love him in secret, yet remain in a casual relationship with him. He couldn’t keep stringing Derek along like that, even if technically he wasn’t, and had never been. But now that he knew the truth, he couldn’t continue this one-sided relationship that was completely unfair to Derek. God knew that Derek deserved better. Deserved much more than Tony, with his fake personalities, his fake enthusiasm, his fake everything. Nothing about Tony was real anymore. He’d hidden his core so deeply for so many years that he wouldn’t even recognize himself anymore.

But the truth remained. Derek deserved much more than a washed up cop who didn’t even have the ability to love him. 

He had to pull himself together. He was still being a performing monkey for Derek’s family and for sure Derek didn’t deserve Tony publically having it out with him in front of them for no other reason than Derek loved him. Tony panted there for a few moments, working to gather himself. Finally, he splashed a little water on his face and glared at himself in the mirror. Exit strategy, he told himself. He was figuring out an exit strategy out of NCIS anyway. Now he just needed to figure out a real exit strategy out of this relationship with Derek. Because goddamnit, Derek loved him. And that wouldn’t do. That wouldn’t do at all.

By the time Tony slid into the seat that Derek had saved for him, he was all smiles and sparkling charm again. He gratefully accepted the coffee and gulped down half the mug before he sighed and looked around the table.

Marissa, Lauren, Frank, Deirdre and Cassie were seated by them. The private dining room was filled with some other wedding guests, although not too many had made it to the wedding brunch. Tony smiled and blushed again when Derek kissed his cheek.

“So, did you hear that people were having sex in the men’s room during the reception last night?” Derek’s nephew Doug mentioned gleefully.

Derek stiffened next to Tony, who carefully kept his expression bland as he focused on drinking his coffee.

“Is that so?” Marissa said archly.

“Probably a groomsman banging a bridesmaid or something,” Derek muttered, before he glared at his daughters. The unspoken, it had better not have been either of you, in his sharp glare. He couldn’t even stop the look if he wanted to, even though he knew for a fact it had been neither of his daughters with any groomsman. It had been him and his hot boyfriend.

“Yeah, I’m _sure_ it must have been a groomsman,” Marissa agreed, watching in delight as Derek started blushing.

“I’m gonna hit the buffet,” Tony smiled chirpily, standing up abruptly.

“I’ll come with you,” Derek muttered, scrambling up and rushing after Tony.

“I’ll _come with you_?” Tony asked sardonically under his breath when they were a few steps away from the table.

“Shut up,” Derek hissed. “It was your fault for being so irresistible.”

Then they both turned when they heard Lauren’s disgusted “Ewwwww!” when she realized why Marissa looked so pleased and why her father had blushed and run away from the table.

Tony snickered as Derek took his hand and dragged him to the buffet. “This is how it started last night too,” he quipped.

Derek gave him an exasperated look. “Shut up and fill up your plate, baby.”

After brunch, they packed up and got ready to leave. As they were saying goodbye to everyone, Tony’s phone rang. He sighed as he saw that it was Gibbs.

“DiNozzo,” he answered curtly. “Uh-huh. Got it. No, I’m not at home. I’ll make my way to Norfolk myself. Yup.”

He shrugged his shoulders and pursed his lips. “I’m gonna go rent a car, Derek,” he told him softly. “We caught a case in Norfolk. No point driving back to DC and then driving down to Norfolk.”

“Take my rental. I’ll get a ride back with Lauren and Cassie,” Derek said, throwing him the keys and grabbing his bags out of the back seat. “Be safe, baby.”

Derek pulled him in for a hard kiss, and then, waving to everyone, Tony said, “It was nice meeting everyone. Congratulations again, Frank. Lovely wedding, awesome shindig. Thanks for having me. But I’ve got to go. Duty calls.”

Lauren and Cassie both hugged him before Tony slid into the car and drove away. He watched as Derek, his two daughters, and his extended family stayed and waved to him until he turned out of the parking lot.

Goddamnit. He definitely needed an exit strategy. What the hell was he thinking? Going to Derek’s niece’s wedding? Of course that screamed commitment. He’d met the man’s mother, for god’s sakes. And he’d chosen not to think of it as anything serious. He was just there to shield Derek from the blatant matchmaking. _Right_. He was such a goddamn idiot sometimes, seeing only what he wanted to see. Damage control time.

It was time to break up with the poor man. He couldn’t drag it out any longer.

He had a path forward now. He even had a lead on a possible new job. Gibbs hated him and had thrown away not only their years of work and trust, but also their tiny little friendship, so he had to leave him and leave NCIS. Derek loved him, but he didn’t love Derek back, so now he had to break up with him.

He had the beginnings of an exit strategy and it was time to pull the trigger.

It was time for him to leave Gibbs, NCIS _and_ Derek.

He ignored the gnawing feeling of dread in the pit of his belly.

It was time. His mind was made up. His path forward was clear.

It was time to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! I hope you all enjoyed it. :D
> 
> The song that I listened to over and over was Tennessee Whiskey. I believe the original was performed by George Jones, but I love the remake that Chris Stapleton did. However, I basically listened to the live version that Jensen Ackles, Jason Manns and Rob Benedict did over and over while I wrote this story. Also I really loved the version that Kris Jones did while driving in a car with his daughter. Here are the links, if you are interested:  
> * [Jensen Ackles, Jason Manns, Rob Benedict version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UC73qZ_oRo)  
> * [Kris Jones version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgpF6YodTG4)  
> * [Chris Stapleton version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zAThXFOy2c)
> 
> OK. You got me. I may have a huge thing for Dean Winchester. :D
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed the story! Thanks for being with me on this. And again, happy belated birthday to red_pink_dots. *hugs*
> 
> love,  
> -j  
> xoxo
> 
> EDIT: I was trying to reply to comments, especially those in c3 but I'm SO very sleepy. again, sorry for the delay in posting and the delay in responding to comments. I will try to reply to all outstanding comments as soon as I can *hugs*


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